Episode 11

The Location & Time Particle に

Learn に — the particle that marks where things are and when things happen in Japanese.

N5ni-location-time

Starting a new unit on action particles. Today: に — the particle that marks where things are and when things happen.

What You'll Learn#

に (location/time particle)N5

marks location of existence and time of actions

Location: place + に + thing が + います/あります. Time: time + に + action. Two jobs, one particle.

New vocabulary: 庭 (garden), 猫 (cat), 台所 (kitchen), 冷蔵庫 (refrigerator), 七時 (7 o'clock), 起きる (wake up), 十一時 (11 o'clock), 寝る (go to bed), 母 (mother)

Lesson Transcript#

に for Location#

Where something exists gets marked with に:

N5home

There is a cat in the garden.

Neutral

庭に猫がいます。

Casual

庭に猫がいる。

Try in JIVX
N5home

There is a refrigerator in the kitchen.

Neutral

台所に冷蔵庫があります。

Casual

台所に冷蔵庫がある。

Try in JIVX

に for Time#

When something happens also gets に:

N5home

I wake up at 7 o'clock every day.

Neutral

毎日七時に起きます。

Casual

毎日七時に起きる。

Try in JIVX
N5home

I go to bed at 11 o'clock.

Neutral

十一時に寝ます。

Casual

十一時に寝る。

Try in JIVX

Combining に with は#

N5home

My mother is in the kitchen.

Neutral

母は台所にいます。

Casual

母は台所にいる。

Try in JIVX

は marks the topic (mother), に marks the location (kitchen).

Summary#

| に usage | Pattern | Example | |----------|---------|---------| | Location | place に thing が います/あります | 庭に猫がいます | | Time | time に action | 七時に起きます |

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